Street sweepers return to the city of Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Spring in Pittsburgh can mean a lot of different things, but for streets in the city, it means one big thing: street sweeping.
When April 1 rolls around in Pittsburgh, it means that the city's Elgin street sweepers start hitting the streets in both commercial areas and residential neighborhoods.
The street sweeping and roadway cleaning program runs each year from April 1 through Nov. 30, and Olga George, the press secretary for Mayor Ed Gainey's Office, says that keeping our streets clean is essential for the health and well-being of our community.
"It is very important to keep our city streets clean because it keeps away the vermin," said George. "Also, when it rains, what happens when it rains? The water flows down the street and hits our drains, and if our drains are clogged up because of debris and everything else that flows into them, it prevents the water from flowing correctly and blocks up our streets. We have flash flooding incidents, and we are trying to avoid that as much as possible."
The street sweeping program operates in most commercial business districts during the overnight hours at least twice a week. But in residential areas, the program runs on select days during the week from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The big question is, how do you know when your neighborhood street is going to be cleaned so you don't get a parking ticket? George says it is as easy as checking the street signs in your neighborhood.
"Please," said George, "if you see a sign that says, 'Do not park, we are cleaning this street,' please don't park. You will be ticketed, and we are trying to avoid it as much as possible, and we want to make sure your neighborhood street is cleaned."
For more information on the city's street sweeping program, click here.